Sibling Rivalry
by StarWarrior72
Summary: Jacen Solo is horrified to discover that his baby sibling is going to be a boy. In the course of panicking, he runs to his uncle Luke for comfort. Ages changed for purposes of... well, speech.


Being a Jedi has taught me how to expect and deal with many things. However, crying nephews are usually not among them. In my opinion, I was justified to be unsure of how to react when Jacen ran into my quarters sobbing.

"Uncle Luke?" he sniffled, looking around plaintively. I rolled over on my bed, where I had taken the opportunity to do some work.

"Is something wrong, Jacen?"

He sniffled again, and reached up to me. I put down my papers and scooped him up. He curled up against me, which was unusual for him.

"Jacen, what's wrong?" I allowed him to cling to me, but it was starting to worry me.

Classic Jacen, he didn't answer my question. "I'm special, right?"

"Of course you are," I assured him.

"But Jaina's more special, right?"

"No, of course your sister isn't any more special."

"So… I'm more special than Jaina?"

"I didn't say that. You and Jaina are each just as special as the other." I tried frantically to cover what I had apparently implied.

"Yeah, we're twins, so we gotta be just the same."

I laughed at that, which was a mistake.

"You're laughing at me! You think I'm being stupid, don't you?"

"No! No, I don't think you're being stupid. Jacen, do you think that you and your sister are the same?"

"No. Mommy and Daddy like her more."

"Your mommy and daddy like you both the same," I promised, trying to figure out what had suddenly brought on this attack of self-deprecation.

"I wouldn'a guess that. Mommy, maybe, but Daddy always wants to play with Jaina. He only plays with me 'cause I'm his only son. An'… An' now Mommy's havin' another boy!" Jacen gave a despairing howl, and threw himself against me.

I held him and snuggled him carefully. If this was family issues, I really had no idea how to deal with them. "Your mom's having another boy?"

"Yeah, an' now Dad won't want to play with me anymore. He's gonna have a _real_ son now."

"What do you think makes you anything less than a _real_ son?"

"I play with animals. That's girly."

"Liking animals isn't girly, Jacen. It's just fine. It would be girly if you felt the need to dye them pink and put bows in their fur."

"Jaina is a better son than I am. At least she likes mechanics like Daddy."

"Jacen, just because your sister has one more thing in common with your dad doesn't mean that he loves her more."

"Yeah, right. If that's true, why is Mommy having another boy? I failed at being a boy. So they want one who does a better job of it."

"When you say that mommy is having another boy, you mean that the baby is a boy, right?"

"Yeah, an' now Daddy won't play with me at all anymore, because he'll have a daughter and a son who does a better job of it than me."

"How much have your parents told you about having babies?" This was not supposed to be my territory; this should have been dealt with by Han.

"Mommy gets big 'cause she's got a baby inside, an' after a while she can go to the medcenter and tell them if she wants it to be a boy or a girl. Mommy an' Daddy leave it to the last second to choose, so they make a list of boys' names an' girls' names. Then Mommy decides which she wants, an' later it comes out of her belly an' it's a baby."

"Um, not exactly," I told him.

"See why Mommy an' Daddy don't like me? I'm stupid too!" Jacen wailed again.

"You're not stupid; you can't be expected to know that if no one has explained it to you."

"What was I wrong about, then?"

"Well, you were right about the baby inside bit, but when she goes to the medcenter, she doesn't choose which gender the baby's going to be. They tell her which. Your mommy didn't choose that it's a boy."

"You're just tryin' to make me feel better."

"Really, Jacen, I mean it."

"But your mommy an' daddy had a girl an' a boy, an' my mommy an' daddy had a girl an' a boy. They chose to have one of each. They wanted to try both."

I shook my head, "That's an interesting theory, but it's not the way it works. You're going to have a baby brother because that's the way it worked out in the end, not because of any decision."

Jacen nodded at this and sat still for a few moments, processing. "I bet when Mommy an' Daddy started making the baby they hoped it would be a boy."

"You know how close I am to your parents, right?"

"Yeah, you're Mommy's brother. I know that."

"Yes, I am, but I'm also close with your daddy. If there was anything wrong with you, they'd have told me."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. Actually, you and your sister both had a little problem when you were born."

"I bet they managed to fix Jaina, but couldn't fix me." Jacen said glumly.

"No, that wasn't something they could solve separately." I bit back laughter, suddenly realizing that my intended next sentence was going to make that a terrible pun.

"Whad'ya mean?"

I changed tact, partly in the hope of avoiding a terrible joke. "Come here," I stood up, and he slid off the bed and followed me. I boosted him onto the counter in the 'fresher and pulled out an extra mirror.

"Do you see that patch on your back?"

He nodded, confused.

"You and Jaina were born attached to each other. The doctors had to cut you apart. That's the only problem your mom and dad have ever told me about."

Jacen touched the scar cautiously. "Really?"

"I wouldn't lie to you. That is the only real problem with you."

"But it's all fixed now?"

"Yes."

"Jaina doesn't have it wrong with her anymore either?"

"Jaina is just as healed as you are. There's just a little bit of scar tissue."

"Then why did Mom an' Dad want another kid at all?"

"Any parent with such a great pair of kids would want another one. Your parents are proud enough of you that they want another kid who'll be just like you. You should be very proud. Not a lot of parents feel that way."

"Mommy an' Daddy are having another kid 'cause they like me an' Jaina so much?"

"That's right, now you should go home before you start worrying them. If they think they've lost you, they might have another baby." I warned playfully.

Jacen nodded, "They're not having another kid 'cause I messed up, they're doin' it cause they want another one like me an' Jaina."

"Yes."

"Uncle Luke?"

"Yes?"

"Can I stay with you for a bit?"

"Why?" I asked, a little bit worried by this sudden need of grown-up company, something he usually shunned.

"Mommy's at work an' Daddy's playing with Jaina."

That explained the feeling that his parents loved his sister more.

"Sure, this stuff can wait until later." We had wandered back into my sleeping quarters, and I waved a hand at the pile of durasheet on the bed.

"Thanks, Uncle Luke." Jacen threw himself around my knees, hugging me tightly.


End file.
